Base-ball-game apparatus.



PATENTEDJULY 30, 1907.

A. H. HEITMANN. BASE BALL GAME APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 00".13, 1906 TSSHEET 1.

ATTORNEYS WITNESSES PATENTBD JULY 80, 1907.

A. H. HEITMANN. BASE BALL GAME' APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED 0013.13, 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IN VE N TOR u Zertjzfezzzg fli 57710717;

2W f'gO A 770/? N E Y8 W/TNESSES '4 V 6 g PATENTED JULY so, 1907.

3 U T. A .R NA M A m B A HL .L A B E S A B A: 1 6 8 o N '1 SHEETSSHEET 3.

5% w ill E v 1 APPLIUATION FILED OUT. 13, 1906.

IIIII/I/IIA W/TNESSES No. 861,841. PATENTED JULY 30, 1907.

V A. H. HEITMJANNIA BASEBALL' AMB APPARATUS.

' APPLIOATION IILED DOT. 13, 1906.

w 4 SHBETSSFEET 4- W/TNESSES INVENTOH filZaezfjferzrg/jfez'imann A k /D I v MAO ATTORNEYS To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERTHENRY HEITMANNQOF COLUMBUS, onro.

, BASE-BALUGAME APPARATUS.

Be it known thatlfALnERT HENRY HnITMANm-a citizen of the United States',.a1 id a resident of Oolumwhereby the game may be played with all of the rules of an ordinary outdoor baseball game, and whereby all of the realistic effects may be produced.

Further objects and advantages of my improved ap paratus will be hereinafter pointed out and the specific structure defined in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings-forming'a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures, inwhich '3 is an inverted. plan view of the supporting block for Figure l is a perspective of the diamond and the players located thereon; Fig. '2 is a vertical section showing the operating mechanism of the pitcher; Fig.

the pitcher, and taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, in-the direction of thearrows; Fig. 4 is'a plan view on the line 33 .of Fig. 2, looking in the opposite direction to the arrows; Fig. 5 is avertical section illustrating the operating mechanism of the batter, and taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 6; Fig.26 is a rear view of the batter, certain 'porti'onsbeing broken away to more clearly illustrate the operating mechanism; Figs. 7, 8 and 9 arevertical sections through the diamond at different points, and taken on the lines 77, 8-8 and 9- 9 of Fig. 1.

improved game comprises a rectangular board 10 adapted to be supported upon a table or upon support ing legs secured to the under side thereof, and the outer edge of the board is provided with an upturned flange or railing 11 adapted to prevent the balls from rolling off the edge of the board. Adjacent one corner of the board is located the batter facing toward the opposite diagonal corner, and in' front of the batter is laid out the diamond having grooves along the base lines and pockets at the bases. The fielders positions are designated by the larger pockets having spiral grooves, while the pitcher instead of being located vwithin the diamond, .is located 'beyondvthe center thereof, so as to be out of the way of the batted balls. A suitable railing surrounds the field, save at the points Specification of Letters Patent. 7 A lication filed October 13, 1906. Serial 110.333,?90.

Patented. J'uly so, 1907.

where it is necessarylto insert the hand to operate the game. p More in particular the field is laid off from a point 12 directly in front of the batter with two lines 13-, 13 at :right angles to each other and forming the foul lines,

while along these two lines for a portion of their length extend the grooves 14 and 15. At the points representing the first and third bases are openings 16 and.17

in the surface of theboard, and these are connected by grooves 18 and19 to the opening 20, representing the position of the second baseman. Each of the grooves.

is of increasing depth as it approaches the base toward which the runner wouldnormallytravel, so that as the ball, representing the base-runner, is liberated at any one base it will travel without outside aid to the next opening representing the next base.

Within each "of the openings is located a curved plate-21 formed of an elliptical piece of metal bent so'that-when supported at the desired angle, it substantially 'close'sthe lower end of the opening. Each plate 21 is substantially supported on the under side by a rod 22 whereby the plate may be raised and the ball, representing the base-runner, ejected from the opening and -'started on its course toward the next base. For operating those ejecting plates I provide a plurality of rods 23, 24, 25 and 26 connected to the lower ends of the rods 22 and extending to points adjacent the batter Where they connect to push buttons 27, 28, .29 and 30. 7 Each rod is pivoted to the under side of the board-l0 at a point adjacent the push button by means of staples. 31, and springs 32 are provided adjacent the pivoted staples for normally raising the push button and lowering the ejecting plates 21. Suitable staples 33iare piiivided for supporting and guiding theoperating rod s,- an angle,-as indicated 'in Figs. 7 and 8, and each plate faces toward the nextsucceoding base. To operate this portion of my improved apparatus, the base-runner, represented by a marbleor other small ball, is placed in the opening 12, representingthe home plate, and as the ball is batted the button 30 is pushed down to raise the plate 21 carried thereby, and eject the ball from the opening and start it down the groove 14 toward the opening 16, -representing first-base. To advance the ball from first base to second' basc, the button 29 is pressed which raises the plate 21 carried thereby and ejects the ball and starts it downtho groove 18 toward the second base. Similarly, the ball, representing the base-runner, may be advancedirom second to third and from third to home p1ate'.-

. Arranged just outside of the diamond and adjacent the three bases are pockets representing the threebase'men and the short stop. Each of these-pockets is' The plates 21 are set at I provided with a spiral groove leading from the circumference to the center, and any suitable means may be provided for forming the pocket and groove. Preferably, a large opening 34 is cut in the board 10 and pieces of sheet metal 35 stamped to the desired form are inserted flush with the upper surface of the board. The sheet metal 35 is formed with a spiral ridge 35, leaving a groove around which the ball must travel before it reaches the'center of the pocket. At the rear of each pocket is placed a curved screen or shield 36, which serves to stop the ball and direct it into the j priclret. 4 Outside of the four pockets above referred to are arranged three other and larger ones formed in a similar manner and represented by the numeral 37. These pockets represent the three out-fielders, and as the territory which they must cover is somewhat greater than that covered by the in-lielders, these pockets are made larger than the first mentioned ones,

and as it normally takes longer for the batted ball to points where it is necessary to insert the hand to operate the pitcher, batter, and the means for advancing the basefrunners. The pitcher occupies a position at the rear of the pocket of the center-fielder, and is provided with mechanism whereby the pitcher may throw the ball in the direction of the batter, and whereby the speed and direction of the pitched ball may be accurately controlled. The pitcher and operating mechanism thereof are clearly illustratedv in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, to which reference will now be asked.

A suitable base block 40- supports the pitcher and is provided on the inner side with the mechanism for operating the device to throw the ball. The dummy player 41 may be formed of any suitable material and none of the parts need be-movablesave the arm 42 for throwing the ball, which arm must necessarily be either flexible or jointed to the body. Within the body of the player is a supporting standard 43 rigidly secured to the block 40 and having at its upper end a suitable bearing for the shaft 44, and a bar 45 rigidly securedto said shaft and extending out through the,

pitching arm 42 of the player. The outer end of the bar 45 is cut to a shape adapted to hold the ball and to represent, as near as possible, the hand of the player. The end 46 of the bar should necessaril-y be somewhat spoon shaped,-with the little finger supporting the ball from beneath and the thumb supporting it at the rear side. The fingers are curved sufficiently to prevent the ball from leaving the hand other than at right angles to the arm. The shaft 44 extends down through one leg of the player into the supporting block and is provided with a bearing therein and an operating lever 47 extending out through an opening in the side of the supporting block 40. By turning the lever 47, the

hand-46 will be moved through the arc of a circle, and as the shaft 44 is set at an angle the hand will no moved upward as it moves forward and the ball will be thrown at a slight upwardly inclined angle. The lower end of the shaft 44 is provided with a coil spring 48 having one end thereof secured to the shaft, and having the other end abutting against a nut 49 carried by a screw-threaded bolt 50. The spring normally holds the arm in the forward position and as the lever 47 is moved backward to the position shown in Fig. 2 and is then released, the action of the spring rotates the shaft 44 and swings the arm forward. The rotation of the shaft, arm and lever is suddenly stopped by the contact of the lever 47 with a staple 51 and the ball leaves thehand at-right angles thereto.

It is evident that the tension of the spring will determine the speed with which the arm is rotated when released, and, therefore, determine the distance to which the ball will be thrown. As the tension of the spring is normally such that the'ball when thrown at a slight upward angle will pass adjacent the batter on a slight downward curve, it is evident that the height of the ball'at the time it passesthe batter may be readily controlled by controlling the speed at which it thrown. The nut 49 .is held from turning on the screwbolt 50, and by rotating the latter the nut is advanced to increase or decrease the tension of the'spring 48,

thusreadily-determining the-speed of the pitched ball and its height as, it passes the batter. For controlling the lateral course of the ball to insure its passing directly over the home ",plate and in the proper relation to the batter, Lsecnre the block 40, upon which the pitcher is supported, with means whereby the lateral angle of the thrown ball may be readily controlled.

The board 10, representing the field, is preferably provided with two plates 52 and 53 inserted therein at the point where it is desired to locate the pitcher, and these plates are embedded so as to lie flush with having enlarged heads, extend down through the supporting block adjacent the two ends thereof, and the head of the bolt 58 is extending through the rectangular opening 54 of the plate 52 and inserted beneath the recess 55 in the ,position 'indicated in. Figs. 2 and 4. Thehead ofthe bolt 59 is inserted through one of the rectangular openings 56 and movedto a position directly below the groove-0r slot 57. Thumb nuts 60 are the block may be. secured in, any desired position. The bolt 58 serves as apivot bolt within the recess 55 and as the groove 57 is in the are of a circle havinglhe recess 55 as a center, the rear end of the block maybe moved to place the pitcher to different positions, and thus laterally control the course of the thrown ball.

The batter 62 is located directly behind the home plate and is supported upon a base-block (l1, somewhat similar to the base block 40 upon which. the pitcher is supported. The dummy batter may bernade of any the upper surface of the board. 7 The board is cut away beneath each of theoplates, andthe plate 52 is provided with a rectangular opening 54 having a recess 55 atone'.

provided at the upper ends of the two bolts, whereby operating lever. This lever extends to the outside of through an opening in the endof the supporting-standard 64 and terminating in two upwardly-directed lugs 65 between which" is pivoted the support 66 for the bat 67. The shalt (i3 is provided with a coil spring 68 having one end thereof secured to the shaft and the other end securedlo a supporting standard-64, whereby the shaft and the bat are normally turned in one direction.

The lower end of the shaft 63 is bent at right angles and provided with a' downwardly-extending portion 69, which latter is in engagement with the arm- 70 of the the supporting" block 6]. and terminates in a knob 71 adapted to be grasped by theoperator. Intermediate the ends of the lever it is pivoted between two downwardly-extending lugs 72, which latterare pivotally supported upon a screw 73, whereby the lever may be turned in alateral direction and also raised and lowered. The inner end of the operating lever is connected by a link 74 to the rear end of the bat-support 66,. while the end of the operating lever is free to move up and down in relation to the end 69 of the shaft 63. By inovr ing the knob 71. in a lateral direction, the bat 67 is moved simi'iltaneously' while by raising or lowering .the knob 71 the link 74 causes the simu taneous raising and lowering of the bat. to both the bat-support 66 and to the lever 70 on the same sideof their pivotal supports but is connected much nearer to the pivot of the'bat-support than to the pivot of the lever, it is obvious that a given yertical movement of the lever will result in a much greater vertical movement of the bat.

The supporting block 61 of the batter is securedto the board in anysuitable manner but preferably by means of a projection 75 carried by the ilnder side of the block and extending into an opening in the board 10, and by a bolt 76 and a plate 77 similar to the bolt 59'and the. plate 53 of the supporting block 40. The bat 67 is preferably made detachable from the .bat-support 66, whereby bats ofdifferent sizes and different shapes may be inserted to suit the fancy of the operator.v To one not familiar with the game a larger bat would preferably be used, but as the persomgained experience and dexterity in the operating of the batter a much smaller bat would be desired. The action of the spring 68 upon the operating shaft 63 is somewhat differmovement, the spring tending to facilitate this movement rather than to constitute the sole meansfor causing the forward movement of the bat.

-To play my improved baseball game, two persons are necessary andas many more may participate as desired. The ball is first placed in the hand of the pitcher and the lever 47 moved to .the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4; A second person controls the batter by means As the link 74 is connected .over the fence but within the foul line, a

of the lever 71. Upon releasing the operating lever 47 of the pitcher the ball is thrown into the vicinity of the strike the ballwi th the bat. -.As the bat is free to move both in lateral anda vertical direction and. both pitcher by in creasing the tension of the spring 48, or by shifting the position of the rear of the block 40, may readily control the direction and the velocity of the pitched ball. A smalhmarble, reprcsentiug'the baserunner, is previously placed within the opening 12 at the home plate, and-as soon as the ball is struck by the bat and goes within the foul lines 13, the button 30 is pressed and the marble raisedfrom the opening 12 and started down the groove 14 toward the first base opening 16. If the batted ball reaches one of the fielding pockets 35 0r-37 and travels down the spiral groove to.-the center before the marble, representing the baserunne'r, reaches first b'a'se,'the ball will be considered as having been properly fielded and the batter ashav ing been put out The outfield is preferably subdivided by two lines 77 and 78, the former outside of the three out-field positions and thelatter outside of the three in-lield positions, sothat if the batted ball comes to rest outside of the line 77 or inside the fence, the batter will be considered to have made a three-base and 78 but not in any one of the fielding pockets 37, the batter will be considered to-have made a two-base hit;

while if the ball stops inside the line 78 but not in any one of the fielding pockets, the batter will be considered to have made a one-base hit.- If the ball is batted will be scored.

Various rules may be established for the playing of the game other than those above noted, and various changes may be made in the details of the apparatus without departing from thespirit of .my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: I r

1. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a suitable support, meansfor pitching. a ball, means for batting said ball, and a plurality of pockets in said support, each of said pockets having a spiral groove descend- -'ing' toward the center of the pocket.

2. An apparatus 'of the classdescribed, comprisinga suitable support, means forpitching a ball, means for" batting said ball, and a plurality of pockets intermediate said pitching-and batting means, each of said pockets having a spiral groove descending toward the center thereof. An apparatus oftheclass described, comprising a suitable support, means for pitching a ball, means for battingsaid ball,.a plurality of pockets intermediate said pitching and batting means and each having a spiral .groove leading from the circumference to' the center, and

a screen disposed adjacent each of said pockets and on the opposite side thereof from said batting means and adapted to direct the ball into {the groove of said pocket.

An apparatus of the'class described, comprising a suitable support, a plurality of pockets in said support,

each of said pockets having a'fspiral groove descendingtoward the center ofthe pocket, and means for projecting a ball into proximity to said pockets.

home run Qhit; while if the ball comes to rest between the lines 77 i 5. An apparatus ofthe class described, comprising a suitabie support, a plurality of pockets in said support, each of said pockets having a spiral groove descending 6.5- battor, and the person opcrating'the latter endeavors to toward the center of the pocket, means for projecting a. ball into proximity to said pockets, aiid a screen disposed :ldjncent cm-h of said packets and on the apposite side (hervof frnm said hull-projecting means and adapted to dirvct the ball into the groove of the corresponding pocket G. An apparatus of the class described. comprising a suiiahic support having :1 plurality of openings therein, a

plurality of pockets c nch formed of sheet metal {ind stumped to providg a spirz1lgroove extending from rile circumference to the center thereof, each of said pockets 10 being dispnsed within one of aid openings, and means for projeciing a hail into proximity to said pokets.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name t0 this specification in the presence of two siibscribing witnesses.

ALBERT HENRY HEITMANN.

Witnesses:

C. R. MARTENS,

, F C. TYLER. 

